On 28 February, Lancing took part in Good Cop, Bad Cop, a remote Model United Nations conference, with over 30 schools from around the world participating. The theme was climate change and based largely on resolutions from the latest international COP conference.
Lancing’s country allocation was the USA, which provided Lancing students with an opportunity to defend the country’s policies and position and learn more about what is being done to combat threats to our environment. The Conference organisers praised our phasing out coal and fossil fuels group, whose proceedings got a little heated when China offered several criticisms of US policy and Sofiia S’s work in the Financing of Adaptation group. The day was full-on, but a great experience – a real challenge to think on your feet and carefully consider solutions and their potential impact.
Liz Keane, Head of Politics
Of the event, Hilmi M, Fifth Form, said the following:
“Model United Nations is a red-letter day in the Lancing Debating calendar. It is a superb opportunity for Lancing Students to sharpen our critical thinking skills through interpreting and evaluating clauses and amendments whilst defending our proposed resolutions. Whilst the conference was, and felt, lengthy, it was a fast-paced activity which involved listening attentively to others and thinking on your feet to craft structured arguments extemporaneously.
I try to refrain from comparing debating to sport, since “winning” shouldn’t be the prime objective of discussions, but, like any other competitive activity, sportsmanship was well observed and respect for different perspectives was much in evidence throughout our discussions.
Our research deepened our understanding of exigent world issues, and the negotiations provided us with a taster in diplomacy, which is a field there is no shortage of interest in at Lancing, including from our Head of School, Sofiia. I would like to congratulate all our delegates who made commendable contributions, particularly those for whom this was their first time participating.”
